These days it feels like the cloud is everywhere. We use it to store our music and to watch our movies. We host our applications in the cloud, and we expect them to be accessible always and everywhere. Lost in the ubiquity of the cloud is a very simple fact: the cloud depends on connectivity. The dependence of cloud on connectivity is obvious when you step back and ask the question: What is the cloud? A simple answer is ...

We’re in the midst of the most ambitious rebuilding of our networks in the past decade. The continued demand for data-intensive video applications combined with a need for seamless connectivity across mobile and fixed devices is driving the redevelopment of our core networks. This rebuilding is focused on flexible architectures that can scale to meet bandwidth requirements as and when required. Yet while video may be the key driver here, people often overlook the raft of applications that these new networks are enabling. In fact, there are some applications that have the potential to radically alter the very way we live.